With this masterful job, it’s time for Mike Tomlin to finally win NFL Coach of the Year
By Frank Schwab, Senior Writer
The Baltimore Ravens lined up for a 2-point conversion and the tie last Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. First place in the AFC North was at stake. Only 1:06 remained in the game. The Ravens presumably dialed up their best 2-point play
And Mike Tomlin stopped it. Literally.
Tomlin called timeout right before the 2-point try was snapped. He timed it so the Ravens had to show the beginning of the play, which was Lamar Jackson on the move to his right. The Ravens scrapped that play, had Jackson go left after the timeout, and it had no chance. The Steelers stopped it to win 18-16, improving to a surprising 8-2 this season.
Tomlin’s timeout wasn’t particularly groundbreaking. But in a league that sees game-management issues from coaches every week, it was another reminder that Tomlin knows how to win games.
“Thankfully we even saw some of the semblance of the schematics of what they intended to run,” Tomlin told the media after the game. “I think that made them change and go the other direction. And obviously, particularly Mr. Jackson is a little less dangerous when he’s going to his left than his right, so we’re thankful for that.”
NFL Coach of the Year is a weird award. It rarely goes to the league’s best coach, as strange as that sounds. It usually goes to the coach of whichever team most exceeds preseason expectation. The Steelers typically have high expectations. So Tomlin, who has famously never had a losing season in his (soon-to-be) 18 years as head coach, has never won the award.
It’s probably time for that to change this season.
Mike Tomlin makes the right move at QB
If the season ended today, here are the top six teams in the AFC and their quarterback. One of the situations is not like the other:
Kansas City Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes
Los Angeles Chargers: Justin Herbert
Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson
… and the Pittsburgh Steelers: Justin Fields and Russell Wilson
That’s five of the 10 best quarterbacks in the NFL, and the Steelers’ duo of castoffs. Fields was acquired for a sixth-round draft pick after the Chicago Bears moved on. Wilson was signed for $1.2 million after he was cut following a disastrous two seasons with the Denver Broncos. Most coaches without a top quarterback fail. Some coaches who are gifted a good quarterback can’t get to the playoffs. Tomlin took the spare ingredients he was given and has made a gourmet meal.
Read the full Yahoo Sports story here.
